Our Guide to the iPhone 7, 7 Plus, and SE

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are significant upgrades over their predecessors in almost every way (with the possible exception of compatibility with older headphones sans adapter). In addition to the usual year-over-year improvements in performance and camera quality, the 7 models are also water-resistant, include much better, louder speakers, and offer features that make the phones more useful and more fun to use. Like previous iPhones, they’re still easy to use out of the box and don’t require tinkering to get the most out of them, making them an easy recommendation for most people. If you’ve got last year’s iPhone 6s or 6s Plus, you probably don’t need to upgrade, but if you’re currently using an iPhone 6 series or older, there’s a lot here to like.

Last Updated:
This month

We’ve updated the What to look forward to section to include news about Apple’s newest iPhones: the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X. We’ll get some hands-on time with the new phones as soon as we can, and will rewrite this guide to provide advice on which iPhone fits each person. Based on what we know so far, though, we think most people looking to upgrade should consider the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus. But Apple is currently offering five generations of iPhones (SE, 6S, 7, 8, and X) so the choice is more complicated than ever.

Six months ago:
Apple has updated the iPhone SE with additional storage (32 GB and 128 GB, up from 16 GB and 64 GB) at the same $400 and $500 prices, respectively. The company has also introduced (Product)Red versions of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, available in 128 GB and 256 GB configurations for the same prices as the non-Red versions.

10 months ago:
We’ve used the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus for a couple months, and we think the 7 is the best option for most people shopping for a new iPhone, despite the lack of a headphone jack, because it nicely balances screen size and usability. The Plus size is what we recommend for heavy users and photography, thanks to its larger screen, longer battery life, and better cameras. Unless you use your phone constantly, you probably don’t need to upgrade from last year’s models, but those with older phones will really appreciate the improvements.

One year ago:
Apple introduced the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, its new flagship handsets. The company has made significant updates across the board to the hardware, especially the cameras, but the removal of the headphone jack could be a problem for some people, such as those who don’t want to use an adapter or who want to be able to charge and listen at the same time.

One year ago:
Apple will be holding a media event on September 7, where the company is generally expected to announce new hardware. If you're thinking of buying a new iPhone, we recommend waiting a week to see what the event will bring.

One year ago:
We’ve tested the iPhone SE and found, as expected, that the new 4-inch phone is a great choice if you value a smaller screen. With internal specs matching those of the iPhone 6s, it’s a (nearly) no-compromises option at an impressively low price. We don’t think most people using current-generation iPhones should upgrade, but if you have an older 4-inch handset and you’re looking to upgrade without giving up the small size, you’ll be quite happy. The surprisingly affordable iPhone SE is also a great first iPhone for switchers.

Two years ago:
At a spring 2016 media event, Apple announced the iPhone SE, which puts nearly all of the features and components of the iPhone 6s (the big exception being a pressure-sensitive screen for 3D Touch) inside the 4-inch-screen body of the iPhone 5s. We’ve updated our smaller-phone section accordingly. The same day, Apple released iOS 9.3. The biggest new feature of the OS is Night Shift, which reduces the blue light of your iPhone or iPad’s screen at night, similar to the desktop and Android app f.lux; some research shows that such an adjustment makes it easier for people to fall asleep. You can also now lock individual notes in the Notes apps (using Touch ID or a passcode to unlock), and Apple announced improvements to its health and education platforms as well as to the News and CarPlay apps.

Two years ago: Apple will be holding a media event on March 21. We’ll update this guide with any important announcements, including (if rumors hold true) the announcement of a 4-inch budget iPhone.

(We recommend that most people buy the generic unlocked version of the iPhone 7, rather than a carrier-specific version, as long as the price is the same. The unlocked, Verizon, and Sprint versions of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus work on both CDMA and GSM networks; the AT&T and T-Mobile versions work only on GSM. You can also buy the Verizon model directly from Apple and use it on other networks, as long as you don’t purchase it with a Verizon carrier contract.)

Between the iPhone 7, 7 Plus, and SE—Apple’s current iPhone models—we think the 7 is the best for most people because it nicely balances screen size and usability. Its 4.7-inch-diagonal display offers considerably more screen space than you get with the iPhone SE; and compared with the larger iPhone 7 Plus, the 7 feels better in most hands, is easier to use one-handed, and slips into and out of a pocket more easily. Specifically, we recommend the 7 with 128 GB of storage for anyone who will be taking a lot of photos and videos with their phone—though you probably don’t need 128 GB, 32 GB may to be too little storage.

The iPhone 7 Plus’s larger screen, significantly longer battery life, and better camera system make it a great upgrade if your iPhone is an always-with-you mini computer and your primary camera.

The larger iPhone 7 Plus is also great, thanks to a 5.5-inch screen, an extra camera, and considerably longer battery life. The larger screen lets you see more stuff, or see the same amount more easily. A second camera lens lets you get closer to your subject without losing resolution, and lets you blur the background for nicer portraits. And if you actively use your phone for many hours each day, the 7 Plus’s significantly longer battery life alone makes it worth considering—it’s the iPhone we recommend for heavy smartphone users. It’s just not as easy to use one-handed (especially if you have small hands), and it’s a tighter fit for jeans pockets.

The iPhone SE is perfect for anyone who prefers the smaller size and screen of older iPhones but still wants good, recent hardware.

The iPhone SE packs the speed, cameras, and (most) features of last year’s iPhone 6s into the smaller body and 4-inch screen of the 2013 iPhone 5s. If you find the iPhone 7 to be too large, the SE is a great alternative that doesn’t require much compromise in terms of performance and features. It’s also the least expensive iPhone that Apple has ever sold, starting at $400 without any carrier subsidies. The iPhone SE isn’t really an upgrade if you’ve got an iPhone 6 or later, but it is a nice option for anyone who likes a small phone.

What’s new in the 7 and 7 Plus

The iPhone 7 is one of the best phones you can buy, and it’s better than its predecessors in almost every way. Unless you absolutely need a headphone jack, it’s the model to get for most people.

On the surface, the new models look a lot like the previous two generations of iPhones, with the same aluminum bodies and the same 4.7-inch (for the iPhone 7) and 5.5-inch (for the 7 Plus) screens—but with three new color options. However, the iPhone 7 models include a good number of upgrades. The changes you’ll notice depend largely on which iPhone model you have now—the older your current phone, the bigger the improvements—but the new phones are better than their predecessors in almost every way. (You can still get last year’s iPhones at a discount, but we don’t think you should.)

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Of course, if you’ve read any tech news over the past few months, you know that the “biggest” change is that the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus lack a traditional 3.5 mm headphone jack. We cover that below.

We think the most noteworthy change for many people is official water-resistance (as opposed to the unofficial water resistance of last year’s models). Specifically, Apple says the new models have an IP (ingress protection) rating of IP67, meaning they’re totally dustproof, and they can keep water out for half an hour when 1 meter underwater. In real-world terms, this means that the phone should be impervious to splashing and incidental water damage, and should be able to survive a drop in the pool, tub, or—ahem—other vessels of water around the house. Note, however, that the iPhone’s warranty doesn’t cover water damage and that you shouldn’t charge the phone until it’s completely dry.

Go ahead—get it wet. Photo: Michael Hession

We submerged our test iPhone 7 Plus in tubs and sinks several times, and took a couple dozen showers with it, and it came out fine. Some Android phones have had similar water-resistance for a while, so it’s good to see Apple join the club—it gives you one less thing to worry about, and one fewer potential cause of damage.

The most noteworthy change for many people is water-resistance.

The other headline improvements are in the phones’ cameras. The rear camera on both the 7 and 7 Plus uses a new 12-megapixel sensor that Apple claims is faster and more efficient than before—a redesigned 28mm f/1.8 lens allows for more light and Apple says that photos should be sharper across the entire image. The standard iPhone 7 also gains an optical image stabilization system—formerly found only on the Plus models—which, when paired with the faster lens, should significantly improve low-light photography and reduce blur and shakiness for both photos and video. Apple has also improved the LED flash, which can provide 50 percent more light and throw it 50 percent farther than the one on the 6s models; the camera can also detect if you’re under artificial lights that strobe at very high speeds and use the flash to account for that in both photos and video.

The iPhone 7 Plus has a second lens that provides optical zoom and a bokeh-like portrait mode. Photo: Michael Hession

But the biggest camera change is that the iPhone 7 Plus—and only the Plus—gains a second lens, a 56mm f/2.8 that Apple calls “telephoto,” though it’s shorter than what most photographers refer to as a telephoto lens. When you’re taking photos, you can switch to the second lens (by tapping a 2x button on the screen) to get an instant 2x optical zoom. In other words, you get twice as “close” without the blur and drop in resolution you’d get with the digital zoom found on most smartphones. (You can still use digital zoom up to 10x.) Confusingly, the 2x mode doesn’t always use the 56mm lens—sometimes (especially in poor light), the camera will instead use its 28mm lens, and then run it through a 2x digital zoom. This takes advantage of the stabilization and larger aperture of the wider lens, but is less sharp than using the 56mm lens. Macworld examined which lens is used when, which is not always obvious.

The 2x optical zoom (right) lets you get “closer” to the subject (left) without losing resolution. Photo: Michael Hession

The biggest camera change is that the iPhone 7 Plus—and only the Plus—gains a second lens.

This second lens also allows for the new “portrait” mode in iOS 10.1 and later: The OS combines images from both cameras to emulate the look of a photo taken with a wide-aperture-lens DSLR using portrait settings: The subject of the photo is in focus while the background is slightly blurred, mimicking an effect known as bokeh. It’s not perfect—sometimes it looks plain bad, especially when the border between the subject and background isn’t distinct—but on shots where it works well, portrait mode can produce some really great images.

Portrait mode (right) blurs the background, similar to what you’d get with a wide-aperture-lens DSLR using portrait settings. Photo: Michael Hession

The iPhone has always been one of the best smartphones—and often the best—for photography, and the improvements to the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus make them better than ever. (You can see some great comparisons between photos taken with the 7 models and last year’s 6s models in this gallery at CNET.) However, over the past couple years the cameras and camera software in Android phones have improved dramatically, and though some reviews still pick the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, that’s not a unanimous opinion.

For example, in this blind test at iMore, judged by readers, Samsung’s Galaxy S7 bested the iPhone 7 (though the 7 Plus wasn’t included); and though DxOMark rates the iPhone 7 highly, Google’s new Pixel claims the top spot. That said, in these tests and others, the iPhone 7 models are still very close to the best—you don’t need to switch to Android to take great smartphone photos.

If your iPhone is your primary camera, these changes may make upgrading from a previous model worth doing.

The front (FaceTime) camera on both models is also improved: It now uses a 7-megapixel sensor with image stabilization, for much better selfies, FaceTime calls, and video conferencing. And both the front and back cameras can capture a wider array of colors than current iPhone cameras—a feature that will pair well with new screens that are 25 percent brighter and capable of displaying a wider color gamut, similar to that of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro (but without the True Tone auto-color-balancing feature). Photographers will also be happy to hear that the iPhone 7 models can shoot raw images.

If your iPhone is your primary camera, these changes alone may make upgrading from a previous model worth doing, especially if you’re considering the iPhone 7 Plus with its optical-zoom and portrait-mode features. But even the iPhone 7 is a nice upgrade over the 6s, thanks to optical image stabilization and overall camera improvements.

The iPhone 7 models lack a traditional headphone jack—you’ll find only a Lightning-connector port along the bottom. Photo: Michael Hession

A less-touted change we’ve come to appreciate much more than we expected is a new speaker system: In addition to improvements to the bottom speaker found in previous models, the 7 and 7 Plus include a second speaker in the earpiece. The two speakers technically produce stereo sound, but given how close together they are, you get very little stereo separation. What you do get is considerably louder output and a wider frequency range: Hearing speakerphone calls is much easier, and if you ever listen to music, podcasts, or a video’s audio through your phone’s speaker, the new models get surprisingly loud. We’ve also found that we’re less likely to block audio with our hands while holding the phone, because there’s now one speaker on the edge of the phone and one on the front. The speaker improvements have proven to be surprisingly useful.

The speaker improvements have proven to be surprisingly useful.

Of course, as with every new iPhone, the new models are faster than their predecessors, this year thanks to a new A10 Fusion processor that also promises to be more efficient—in other words, you get better performance without sacrificing battery life.1 Indeed, user-submitted results from the popular Geekbench benchmarking app indicate that the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are much faster than previous iPhones. In fact, they’re faster than both of Apple’s iPad Pro models.

That said, most people with an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus won’t notice a huge difference in performance, and even those with an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus who just use the phone for basic tasks such as email, browsing, and social media don’t need to upgrade just for speed—most phones from the past couple years are plenty fast enough. But if you’re upgrading from a 6 or 6 Plus, or an older model, the new models do feel faster when using demanding apps, switching between apps, and even just scrolling around. The new models also provide use time that’s roughly comparable to the 6 and 6s models: In our real-world use, the iPhone 7 gets through a day of moderate use, with the 7 Plus still having 20 to 40 percent of a charge left at the end of the day. (Apple says the new models should get about an hour longer battery life than the 6s models, but we didn’t test that claim rigorously.)

The iPhone 7 Plus gets arguably the larger performance improvement over its predecessor thanks to more RAM.

In terms of everyday use, the iPhone 7 Plus gets arguably the larger performance improvement over its predecessor thanks to 3 GB of RAM (the memory the phone uses for apps and data it’s actively using). Because their larger screens have so many more pixels, the Plus-size iPhone models must use more RAM for graphics, leaving less for other tasks. This often resulted in delays when multitasking on the 6 Plus (1 GB of RAM) and 6s Plus (2 GB). Switching between apps frequently resulted in the switched-to app having to fully reload; and Safari would have to reload each tab as you switched to it, or reload the current Web page if you switched away from Safari and back again. With 3 GB of RAM, the 7 Plus is the first Plus-size iPhone where the phone doesn’t feel like it’s struggling with memory. We still see the occasional webpage reload, but it’s much less frequent.

The new Home button doesn’t actually move—it just feels like it does thanks to haptic feedback. Photo: Michael Hession

The iPhone 7 models also replace the physical button found on previous models with a pressure-sensitive, solid-state, capacitive button. The new button has no moving parts, which both improves water-resistance and should reduce the need for Home-button repairs. Because the button doesn’t move, the phone relies on a new version of Apple’s Taptic Engine (circuitry that vibrates to provide tactile feedback) to indicate when you’ve pressed the button, and you can configure how strong that feedback is. If you’ve used previous iPhones, the new button feels a bit odd at first, especially because the Taptic Engine vibrates the entire bottom of the phone, rather than just the button, but after a few days most Wirecutter staffers using the 7 models forgot that it was different—more than one has noted that it now feels weird to use a device with the old Home button. A minor downside is that because the button is capacitive, you can’t press it with a fingernail or through nonconductive fabric; but because you can’t use the screen with those materials either, we don’t think this is a big deal.

The iPhone 7 costs $650 for 32 GB of storage, $750 for 128 GB, and $850 for 256 GB. The 7 Plus costs $770, $870, and $970 for the same amounts of storage, respectively. Most carriers have eliminated contract-based subsidized prices, so expect to either pay the full price of the phone up front, or have the full price split into monthly payments on a financing plan.

Over the past few iPhone generations, the biggest complaints our editors—and users around the Web—seem to have about the iPhone aren’t related to its own hardware or software, or any particular iPhone model, but rather about iTunes, which you can use on your computer to sync media to the phone, back up (and restore) your phone locally, and more. As one Wirecutter staffer put it, “iTunes 12 is almost unusable as a means for moving files to and from the device. I can’t count the number of times in the last year I have been forced to do a full restore of the hardware in order to correct all of the ‘Other’ files that continue to pollute my phones. Have a sync interrupted, or decide you want to add additional files mid-sync? You’ll need to restore … The issue has greatly diminished my enjoyment of the hardware.”

On the topic of restoring, though you can easily back up your phone to iTunes on your computer, or to the cloud using iCloud—or both—these backups are all-or-nothing affairs: You can’t restore a single app’s data, or just apps and their data, and leave the OS and non-app data behind. This is noteworthy because if you’re having a software-related problem and restoring the phone from a backup doesn’t fix it, Apple’s support staff will often recommend erasing the phone and starting over, manually reinstalling apps from the App Store. Doing so means you lose data for any app that doesn’t separately store its data in the cloud (using Dropbox, Apple’s iCloud app storage, or similar). On a computer, many people would consider this approach to backup and restore to be unacceptable. But because smartphones in general have historically had such limited backup/restore options, and iOS has provided limited access to the file system and individual app data, it’s somehow considered acceptable. As people spend more and more time using mobile devices as primary computing platforms, app data is becoming increasingly important. Apple should give users more options for backing up and restoring that data.

As we mentioned above, if you enjoy tinkering and customization, iOS isn’t as flexible as Android, which allows you to customize almost any aspect of the phone’s interface via third-party software. Android also lets you download and install apps from multiple sources. On the other hand, iOS 8, iOS 9, and iOS 10 have made iPhones much more customizable than in the past, thanks to app extensions, custom keyboards, and additional options built into the OS itself.

If you enjoy tinkering and customization, iOS isn’t as flexible as Android, but it’s much more customizable than in the past.

A minor complaint about the iPhone 6s models last year, and continuing with the 7 models this year, is that the phone’s Touch ID fingerprint sensor is too fast. On recent models, it’s difficult to press the Home button with a Touch ID-configured finger—say, if you just want to quickly wake the phone’s screen to view the time or your notifications—and have the phone not unlock. In response to these complaints, iOS 10 automatically wakes the screen whenever you lift the phone to look at the screen, so you don’t have to press the Home button; and after waking the screen, you have to press the Home button again to use Touch ID to unlock the phone. These changes take some getting used to if you’ve used an iPhone before, but after a couple weeks the new behavior feels pretty natural. We have found that raise-to-wake doesn’t work perfectly every time, depending on how the phone is positioned before you pick it up and how you pick it up, but we’re pretty happy with the feature overall.

With the iPhone line, your hardware choices are limited: This year’s lineup includes just three phones—the iPhone 7, the iPhone 7 Plus (discussed below), and the smaller iPhone SE (also discussed below)—with options for color and storage capacity. That’s a lot more limited than what you can find on the Android side, where at least a dozen companies each offer a line of Android phones, including less-expensive models. The quality of some of these phones isn’t nearly as good as with the various flagship models, but some people don’t need the best and aren’t willing to pay for it.

What about the lack of a headphone jack?

The omission of a traditional headphone jack is a controversial change (and we have an article about dealing with phones that have dropped the jack). Apple does, however, include both a Lightning-connector version of the company’s EarPods earbuds and a Lightning-connector-to-3.5-mm adapter for using any headphones with a traditional headphone miniplug; you can also use Bluetooth headphones as with any other phone.

The lack of a headphone jack can be a hassle, but it’s not something that would keep us from recommending the iPhone 7 unless you have other specific needs.

We won’t get into the debate over why Apple made this change, or whether it’s good or bad, but a number of Wirecutter staffers have used the new phones for a couple months. Those who’ve given us feedback on the headphone jack have mostly said that though it can be a bit of an inconvenience, it hasn’t been a huge deal in real-world use. If you’re the type who uses the earbuds that come with your phone, you can just do that; similarly, if you primarily use Bluetooth headphones, you won’t notice a difference. If you use other wired headphones, you’ll likely connect the included adapter to your headphone cable and leave it there. (A couple Wirecutter staffers have purchased an extra adapter—Apple charges $9 for each—to leave at work or in their bag.)

There’s no question this is more of a hassle than if the phone had a traditional headphone jack—especially if you use the same headphones with multiple devices, so you have to regularly connect and disconnect the adapter—but it’s not something that would keep us from recommending the phone unless you have other specific needs.

If you want a bigger phone, a better camera, or longer battery life: The iPhone 7 Plus

The iPhone 7 Plus’s larger screen, significantly longer battery life, and better camera system make it a great upgrade if your iPhone is an always-with-you mini computer and your primary camera.

We think the iPhone 7 is the best size for most people, but it’s worth at least considering the 7 Plus. Over the past couple years, a number of Wirecutter staffers have used both sizes (across the 6, 6s, and 7 lines) for extended periods, and based on those experiences, we think the 7 Plus is a great option for more people than you might assume.

One reason is that the 7 Plus’s larger body means there’s room for a battery that’s 48 percent larger than the one in the iPhone 7 (2,900 mAh versus 1,960 mAh). The result is that the 7 Plus gives you much longer use time: according to Apple, seven hours more talk time (21 versus 14 hours), six days more standby time (16 versus 10 days), an extra hour of Internet use (15 versus 14 hours), one more hour of video watching (14 versus 13 hours), or 20 more hours of music listening (60 versus 40 hours). We haven’t done rigorous testing of these estimates, but based on our own everyday use, other reviews and feedback we’ve seen, and our time using the two previous generations of iPhones, we can say that in a moderate- to heavy-use day, the 4.7-inch models are often nearly spent by the time we go to bed, while the Plus phones regularly have 20 to 40 percent of a full charge remaining.

The additional battery life alone may be enough reason to choose the larger phone.

For several Wirecutter staffers, this additional battery life alone was enough reason to choose the larger phones: Not having to worry about your battery dying by the end of the day is liberating. What’s more, if you’re a heavy enough user that you’d eventually buy a battery case for the iPhone 7 just to make it through the day, you’ll have spent almost as much as the difference in price between the 7 and 7 Plus—and you’ll have an encased phone that’s bulky enough to make it, in some ways, less wieldy than the 7 Plus. In other words, if you tend to buy an iPhone and a battery case, you might consider buying the 7 Plus instead.

As mentioned above, another advantage for the 7 Plus is that its camera system includes an additional lens. Compared with the 7, you’ll get true 2x optical zoom, as well as the new portrait mode. And if you tend to take a lot of photos and videos, the 7 Plus’s larger screen makes it easier to edit those pictures and clips and show them to other people. (This is more of a benefit than you might expect. In a room full of iPhones, the 6 Plus, 6s Plus, and 7 are the phones our family and friends gravitate toward whenever we’re showing the latest media.)

Compared with the 7, you’ll get true 2x optical zoom, as well as the new portrait mode.

That screen is, of course, the 7 Plus’s most obvious advantage over the iPhone 7. The 7 Plus’s screen is nearly an inch larger (measured diagonally), and, put simply, it lets you see more content, or the same amount of content at a larger size. It makes many apps easier to use because what’s on the screen is less crowded, or because the developers have made onscreen controls larger. It’s even large enough that some apps, including Apple’s Mail and Messages and third-party apps such as Tweetbot, provide a two-pane layout when the 7 Plus is in landscape orientation.

On the other hand, the iPhone 7 Plus, like its Plus-size predecessors, is big enough that those with smaller hands will likely find the phone impossible to use one-handed. (It’s also less comfortable to hold in the hand, and it doesn’t fit as nicely in pants pockets.) Even those with average-size hands may struggle to reach the top edge of the screen with the thumb of the hand holding the phone. (Here’s a graphic comparing thumb reach for the iPhone 4s, 5/5s, 6, and 6 Plus—the 6 and 6 Plus sizes in the graphic also apply to the 6s and 7 versions of those sizes.) To help with this, iOS includes a feature called Reachability that, when you double-tap the Home button, slides the screen content halfway down so you can access whatever is on top. However, though Reachability works, most Wirecutter staffers prefer to simply slide the phone down in the hand, or to use two hands—one to hold the phone, the other to use the screen.

Are the larger model’s trade-offs worth it? None of the Wirecutter staffers who’ve tested the 7 Plus, 6s Plus, or 6 Plus have said that they love holding the phone—without exception, all acknowledge that the larger models still feel big after a year or two of use. But Plus fans also agree that the benefits of the larger size far outweigh the inconveniences. One Wirecutter staffer who’s used both models extensively notes that though it takes a while to get comfortable with the Plus, because it’s more for “people who want a phone that’s eye- and finger-optimized, not pocket-optimized,” the Plus isn’t as bad of a choice for most people as we felt when the 6 Plus debuted in 2014. Another staffer put it this way: The smaller models are better when they’re tucked away, but the larger ones are better when you’re actually using them. Another says, “I love love love the 6 Plus, even despite having a harder time using it.” Finally, an editor who tested the 6 Plus and 6 simultaneously noted that the more he used the 6 Plus, the less he wanted to go back to the 6.

The smaller models are better when they’re tucked away, but the larger ones are better when you’re actually using them.

Related to this, a couple Wirecutter staffers have found that after getting a 6 Plus in 2014, they ended up using their iPads quite a bit less frequently: Things that they used to do on an iPad, because previous iPhones were too small, they did on the Plus instead. If that’s something you could see happening to you—if buying a 7 Plus ends up letting you avoid buying a tablet, or even letting you sell your current tablet—you could save a lot of money by spending $100 more for the 7 Plus.

We encourage you to go to a local Apple Store or other retailer and spend some time with each. One bit of advice: If you’ve never tried a 7 Plus (or a similarly sized Android “phablet”), you’ll likely be shocked by the size. Push past that feeling and spend 10 to 15 minutes using the 7 Plus for the kinds of things you tend to do on your phone. If it doesn’t win you over, or at least have you wondering if you’d like it better, the iPhone 7 is probably the phone for you.

The iPhone SE is perfect for anyone who prefers the smaller size and screen of older iPhones but still wants good, recent hardware.

We think the iPhone 7, like the iPhone 6s and 6 before it, represents a great compromise between the hand-friendly size of the older iPhone 5s and the massive expanse of screen you get with the 7 Plus, 6s Plus, and 6 Plus. A good number of people, however, still think that the 5s, with its 4-inch screen, was the perfect size for a phone—even the 7 is too big for them.

The iPhone SE was made for these people, as it offers nearly all the features and power of last year’s iPhone 6s in the body of the iPhone 5s. Specifically, it uses the same 4-inch, 1136×640 Retina screen and the same easily pocketable body as the iPhone 5s, making it about two-thirds of an inch shorter and one-third of an inch narrower than the iPhone 6s and 7. (Cases originally designed for the iPhone 5 and 5s will fit the SE, and Apple sells its own iPhone SE Leather Case.)

But the SE’s internals—including an A9 processor, an M9 coprocessor (for motion tracking and always-on Hey Siri), NFC (for Apple Pay), and a 12-megapixel rear camera—are almost the same as those of last year’s iPhone 6s.

The iPhone SE is an excellent handset if you value a smaller screen but aren’t willing to give up specs.

The two notable exceptions are the FaceTime Camera and 3D Touch. The SE has a 1.2-megapixel FaceTime camera, which has a significantly lower resolution than the 5-megapixel front camera on the iPhone 6s and the 7-megapixel front camera on the iPhone 7. The SE also lacks a pressure-sensitive screen, which means the phone doesn’t support Apple’s 3D Touch feature. (Our friends at iFixit confirmed that the iPhone SE uses the same screen as the iPhone 5s, which likely helps keep the iPhone SE’s price down.)

We really like 3D Touch and having a great FaceTime camera, but if you’re interested in a smaller, lower-priced phone, the lack of these features likely isn’t a big enough omission to dissuade you. The SE even supports taking and viewing the Live Photos feature of iOS 9 and iOS 10—you just view them on the phone by long-pressing the screen, rather than by pressing harder on the glass as you would with newer models.

The iPhone SE has the same Touch ID sensor as the iPhone 5s, rather than the newer version found in the iPhone 6s and 7 models. The only real drawback here is that the SE’s Touch ID sensor is a bit slower to recognize fingerprints. However, given that some people think Touch ID on the 6s and later is too fast, and that we haven’t had any complaints about the SE’s Touch ID performance, we don’t see this issue as a significant drawback. The other minor omission compared with the 6s and 7 models is that the SE doesn’t include a barometer, so it can’t track altitude—for example, to monitor the number of flights of stairs you climb.

A few weeks of testing the iPhone SE revealed few surprises. Anyone who has ever used an iPhone 5 or 5s will be immediately familiar with the SE’s body, as it feels identical in the hand as the older models. Though it’s downright tiny in comparison with the 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus and 7 Plus, the SE still has the rock-solid feel of the 5 and 5s. And thanks to the smaller screen, most people—even those with smaller hands—will be able to reach any point of the screen with their thumb without having to adjust their grip. (Though we missed our larger screens during testing, it was nice to go back to the easy-reach size of the 4-inch screen for a while.) As for performance, the iPhone SE effortlessly handled every task we threw at it—we noticed no differences in performance between this new model and the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, though the newer 7 and 7 Plus models definitely feel faster.

The iPhone SE is an excellent handset if you value a smaller screen but aren’t willing to give up specs. It isn’t Apple’s most creative new phone to date—but it obviously isn’t meant to be.

How much storage should you get?

One of the most welcome improvements in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus compared with previous models is more storage: The entry-level 7 and 7 Plus come with 32 GB, rather than 16 GB. We’ve long recommended against 16 GB iPhones, because the operating system and built-in apps take up a decent amount of space, so once you add your favorite apps, you could find yourself with less than half of that 16 GB free, leaving little room for photos, music, video, and apps going forward. (And those photos and videos get bigger with every new model, thanks to higher-resolution cameras—and, on the 7 Plus, two lenses that take two different images simultaneously.) We know far too many people who purchased an iPhone with 16 GB of storage and later regretted it.

That said, 32 GB still isn’t a lot. Unlike with a 16 GB model, you’ll be able to use a 32 GB iPhone 7 without regularly getting frustrated—at least for a while. But between photos, videos, music, apps, email and message attachments, and other data you’ll accumulate while doing things that smartphones are meant to do, it won’t take long to fill up 32 GB. Unless you use your phone for email, messaging, Web browsing, and Facebook only, 32 GB is still likely to be too little storage—and if that’s how you’ll be using your phone, an iPhone or a flagship Android smartphone is probably more phone than you need.

Between photos, videos, music, apps, email and message attachments, and other data you’ll accumulate while doing things that smartphones are meant to do, it won’t take long to fill up 32 GB.

A version with 64 GB would have been the sweet spot for most people, but the only other storage options for the 7 and 7 Plus are 128 GB and 256 GB, for a price premium of $100 and $200, respectively. We don’t like recommending that everyone pay more to get the 128 GB model—especially because 128 GB is probably more than most people will need—but that extra $100 investment will likely pay for itself in time not spent managing your phone’s storage; it will also increase the value of the phone if you ever decide to sell it.

When the iPhone SE first became available, it came in only 16 GB or 64 GB capacities, so we recommended the 64 GB version. A March 2017 update, however, gave the SE line the same options of 32 GB or 128 GB. The truly budget conscious could scrape by with the $400 version of the SE. But as with the iPhone 7, we think most people should spend the extra $100 for the 128 GB model.

What about 256 GB on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus? People with lots of apps and media will want to consider bumping up to 256 GB, but we think 128 GB is best for most users.2

Should you upgrade if you own an older iPhone?

Our general philosophy about upgrading is that if your phone isn’t your constant companion—if you use it only to periodically check email and Facebook and for occasional phone calls—you don’t need the latest and greatest. Last year’s iPhone, or even the one before that, or before that, is likely going to continue serve you well. The fact that iPhones from the past few years can all run iOS 10 well means you aren’t even going to miss most of the latest software features.

At the other extreme, if you use your iPhone frequently throughout the day—as a miniature computer running lots of apps; as a way to stay in constant contact via email, text, phone, and social media; as a media player; and as your primary camera—and you’re happy with the iPhone ecosystem, you’ll benefit by having the latest and greatest model, even if you just bought a new phone last year. (If you’re a heavy iPhone user who currently has an iPhone 6s, you might also consider upgrading to the larger iPhone 7 Plus, even if you don’t need the hardware upgrades of the 7 line—the larger screen and battery of the Plus models are more appealing the more you use the phone.)

Upgrading from an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus may not be as expensive as you think. You could likely sell one of last year’s phones for $300 to $600 (depending on the model and capacity); buying the corresponding new model for $650 to $950 would give you a net cost of roughly $350. Over the next year, that would amount to less than a dollar a day. Considering how much better this year’s iPhones are than last year’s, that’s a pretty good deal. Many carriers also now make it easier to upgrade thanks to trade-in, financing, and lease programs.

If you’re not a heavy user, and you have last year’s 6s or 6s Plus, the 7 or 7 Plus probably isn’t a necessary upgrade.

If you have last year’s 6s or 6s Plus and you’re not a heavy user, the 7 or 7 Plus probably isn’t a necessary upgrade.

If your current phone is an iPhone 6 or older, the decision is a little easier, as those models are quite a bit farther behind: You’ll get dramatic improvements in performance, multitasking, camera quality, Touch ID performance, water-resistance, and motion monitoring, as well as hands-free Siri, 3D Touch, and Live Photos.

Upgrading from an iPhone 5 or older means you’ll also be gaining Touch ID, Apple Pay, and Apple Watch compatibility.

When upgrading a phone that’s at least two years old, you’ve also likely completed any two-year contract you may have signed to get a subsidized price on your current phone—and, in fact, your carrier may still be charging you the same monthly rates, so you’re continuing to pay a subsidy-covering rate for a phone that’s already been paid off.

What about buying an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus?

Photo: Michael Hession

Apple still sells last year’s 6s and 6s Plus, with each particular combination of size and storage capacity costing $100 less than the corresponding 7 or 7 Plus model. For example, a 128 GB iPhone 7 is $749; a 128 GB iPhone 6s is $649. However, we think most people will be better off spending the extra $100 on the newer models.

We think most people will be better off spending the extra $100 on the newer models.

You may be tempted to save $100 for what appears, on the outside, to be a very similar phone, but unless you absolutely can’t afford the extra $100—or the few additional dollars per month on a financing plan—for the current model, or you really do need a dedicated headphone jack, we recommend against buying last year’s iPhones. As we mentioned above, the iPhone 7 models are better in almost every way than last year’s models: They offer better performance, better cameras, water-resistance, stereo speakers with louder audio, and more. The 7 Plus also includes more memory so apps and Web pages don’t have to constantly reload; and an extra camera lens for optical zoom. We don’t think the $100 you’d save (either up front or spread across a two-year payment plan) is worth giving up those improvements.

And even if cost is a significant limitation for you, consider this: The 7 and 7 Plus will be great for longer than last year’s models, will likely get OS updates for at least an additional year down the road, and will be worth considerably more if you decide to sell the phone someday to help pay for an upgrade. And if you’re going to pay for your new iPhone on a lease or finance plan, spreading the cost across a two-year plan, the difference between buying the latest iPhone and last’s year’s equivalent is only about $4 per month.

What if you’re switching from Android?

If you’re an Android user who’s thinking about giving iOS a try, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are comparable to the best flagship Android phones in terms of hardware. Recent versions of iOS don’t require you to sacrifice as many customization features as in the past, and few Android phones can match the iPhone’s overall hardware/software integration.

Apple has a free Android app, Move to iOS, that helps people with a device running Android 4.0 or later to move their contacts, message history, camera photos and videos, Web bookmarks, mail accounts, and calendars to a new iPhone during the iPhone setup phase. (The app creates a private Wi-Fi network, secured with a unique 10-digit code, between the two devices.) The app isn’t, of course, a reason to switch from Android to iOS, but for anyone who’ll be doing so, it appears to be a nice option that will make the process easier.

Does the Jet Black iPhone 7 scratch like crazy?

The Jet Black finish means more fingerprints and scratches if you don’t use a case—or at least it makes those blemishes easier to see than with the standard finish.

For some people, the biggest buying question this year isn’t about size or capacity, but color and finish: In addition to the existing silver, gold, and rose gold finishes, Apple offers the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in a matte black and a glossy Jet Black. (Space Gray is gone. And a sixth color, a (Product)Red special edition, was released in March 2017.) The standard black has the same anodized-aluminum finish as that of the silver, red, gold, and rose gold models. The Jet Black model, however, is completely new: Though still made of anodized aluminum, it’s polished to a high gloss. The result looks great—it’s difficult to determine where the phone’s casing stops and the screen begins. It also feels good in the hand, as the glossy surface makes it easier to grip than the standard finish. (On the other hand, the glossy finish slides around more on fabric, so you have to be careful about not letting it fall off your lap or out of loose pockets.)

A Jet Black 7 Plus after six weeks without a case. Photo: Dan Frakes

The glossy Jet Black finish does mean more fingerprints and scratches if you don’t use a case—or at least it makes those blemishes easier to see than the standard finish does. (As Apple itself warns, “its high shine may show fine micro-abrasions with use.”) That said, after using a Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus for about six weeks without a case—a period during which I (Dan Frakes) have slid the phone across many a counter or desk, had the phone accidentally fall a few times onto tile and wood floors and a paved driveway, and generally used the phone as I would have had it been in a case—it still looks pretty good. As you can see in the photo above, the phone does have lots of tiny scratches, especially along the edges, but they’re noticeable mainly under reflected light.

Why (or why not) iPhone?

There’s a good chance that if you’re reading this guide, you already know that you want an iPhone. Still, we think it’s worth at least explaining why we think an iPhone is better than other smartphones for many people.

Many Wirecutter staffers use an iPhone because it has the highest functionality-to-annoyingness ratio among the gadgets we own.

Many Wirecutter staffers use an iPhone because it has the highest functionality-to-annoyingness ratio among the gadgets we own. We’ve covered the hardware, but the current version of the iPhone’s operating system software, iOS 10, is rock-solid and almost as flexible and customizable as Android in many ways—but unlike many Android phones, you’ll probably never feel like you have to spend lots of time messing with it to make it work. The software also works seamlessly with the hardware, because Apple makes both.

For many people, Apple’s service and support is the biggest appeal. As long as you have an Apple Store nearby—and these days, most people in the US have one within a reasonable distance—you have easy access to a trained support person who can help you fix most problems. Even if you don’t live close to a store, Apple’s phone support is solid. For Android phones, you generally have to rely on carrier stores, some of which are merely partner stores or affiliates, and most of which don’t employ trained tech-support personnel. Though tech-savvy folks may take a good support network for granted, it makes getting good support easy for everyone.

If you opt for Apple’s $129 AppleCare+ warranty, you not only extend your warranty and support coverage to two years, but also gain coverage against accidental damage. Several Wirecutter staffers have at one point or another destroyed an iPhone accidentally, but had it replaced just by going to an Apple store and paying a modest deductible. After restoring our data from iTunes or an automatic daily iCloud backup, we were back in business—granted, many hours later—without any loss of images, data, or apps.

Malware is another thing you don’t have to worry as much about with iPhones—there’s very little of it. (A 2015 report from Verizon, no longer available for download, humorously pointed out that “most of the suspicious activity logged from iOS devices was just failed Android exploits.”) A big part of this security discrepancy is due to the fact that when Apple patches a security hole, it generally does so for all iPhones at once, pushing the update to millions of users. And because the latest version of iOS generally supports devices going back at least five years, and Apple provides security patches for at least the current OS, and often the one before, as well, most people get those patches. Google doesn’t have such flexibility with Android due to hardware fragmentation and carrier constraints. You may never have a problem with Android if you use only apps from known developers, but it’s just one less thing to worry about when you’re using an iPhone.

Google’s lack of control over who gets updates also means that Android phone owners have no guarantee they’ll get the latest and greatest version of Android. Even many Android phones purchased in the past year aren’t running the latest version of Android—and never will be. iOS 10 lacks a few features on a four-year-old iPhone 5, but that model is otherwise able to run the same OS you get on the latest iPhones.

One other Apple software advantage is that every iPhone works the same way—if you’ve used one iOS device, you can use any other, and if you upgrade your phone, you don’t have to figure out how to use it all over again. Many Android vendors add their own overlays and tweaks to Android, so two phones with the exact same version of Android may have very different interfaces and even different software features.

This consistency also has benefits for developers: Most iPhone owners are currently running iOS 10, the latest version, with most of the rest running iOS 9, so it’s comparatively easy for developers to make apps that work on any recent phone. They can also take advantage of technologies found only in recent OS versions without excluding a huge number of users. The result is that more great apps are made for iOS, and when an app is made for both platforms, the iOS version frequently debuts first. Android does get some kinds of apps you won’t find on iOS, because Apple has stricter rules about what it allows into its App Store, but we think the iPhone’s app selection is more appealing for more people.

Finally, Apple has a very different privacy policy than Google, the maker of the Android operating system. Google collects quite a bit of data about how you use its services, Android, and your phone; it uses that data, in part, to target advertising and other services, and it provides some of that data to its partners. Apple says it doesn’t track your activity, location, and the like unless absolutely necessary (say, to provide GPS navigation), and even then, it anonymizes that data so it can’t personally identify you. Whether this is due to ideology or competitive advantage (“Apple believes consumers…will increasingly value privacy as a factor in their buying decisions,” says security expert Rich Mogull at Macworld), Apple is currently the vendor that seems to care more about privacy, and you get this privacy protection without having to change lots of hard-to-find settings.

If you enjoy tinkering with and tweaking settings—and we mean that in both a bad way and a good way—Android is better. And with Android, you have the freedom to get apps from the Google Play Store, Amazon’s app store, and any other place—though that freedom also comes with increased risk of malware and bad apps. (With Apple, all apps have to go through the App Store, which means more restrictions, but also better security.) Similarly, some people may prefer the variety of phones and features you get from the Android market, including features such as IR blasters, removable batteries, and microSD-card slots. And though your only option for a “budget” iPhone is an older model or the smaller iPhone SE, on the Android side you can get a 2016 phone—though one that’s not nearly as good as a flagship phone—for a reasonable price.

If you’re coming from an older iPhone, such as the 6s or previous models, camera improvements alone may make upgrading to the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus worth doing. Compared with the 7-series iPhones, however, the 8 and 8 Plus are likely minor upgrades in terms of speed and photography. The big new feature is wireless charging using the existing Qi standard. That means you’ll be able to use third-party charging pads that are already available—but you will have to wait for a late-2017 software update to take advantage of high-speed wireless charging and early 2018 for Apple’s own AirPower pad. If you’re happy with your current phone, you’re fine waiting another year or two to upgrade. That said, if you’re on an annual upgrade program, there’s no obvious reason not to trade up. The iPhone 8 is priced from $700, and the iPhone 8 Plus starts at $800. Both models will begin preorders on September 15 and will ship September 22.

The iPhone X is only slightly longer than the iPhone 8, but because of its 5.8-inch bezel-free Super Retina display it beats the iPhone 8 Plus in screen area. The edge-to-edge face also means this is the first iPhone without a home button; a light screen tap or swipe motion now wakes the phone. This also means Touch ID is gone, replaced by a new facial recognition system called TrueDepth Face ID that uses a dot pattern and mathematical tracking to unlock the phone with a direct stare or glance and operate as an authenticator for Apple Pay. We’ll have to see how well it works in everyday use—because if it’s any slower or less reliable than Touch ID, it’ll be a step backward. The system is adaptive to physical changes (like putting on glasses or growing a beard) and powers the highlighted custom-fitting Snapchat masks and the new Animoji in the iMessage app. Pricing for the iPhone X starts at $1,000. Preorders begin on October 27 and it ships November 3. The iPhone X looks to be a gorgeous device, but it’s a premium phone at a higher price that pays for design and extras—as an everyday phone, we don’t expect it to be dramatically better for most people. Most people should consider the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus.

Footnotes:

1. The A10 has four cores, but instead of four identical cores, two are designed for high performance and two for energy efficiency. During normal tasks that don’t require a lot of horsepower, the efficient cores handle the load; when more power is needed, the high-performance cores kick in. This clever design helps explain how they A10 offers better performance while using less energy. Jump back.

2. One Wirecutter editor has roughly 600 apps, 6 GB of music, and 5 GB of Messages data on an iPhone 7 Plus, and is using only 65 GB of storage. Before moving hundreds of photos and videos to his computer, he was still using only around 100 GB.Jump back.

Dan Frakes is a senior editor for The Wirecutter. He previously spent over a decade as a senior editor at Macworld/IDG, and he’s been reviewing products and writing about technology, media, and audio for nearly two decades.

Nick Guy is the accessories writer for The Wirecutter, and covers barware and drinking accessories for The Sweethome. He previously served as accessories editor at iLounge, and wrote about cocktails for Serious Eats. His work has appeared on TIME.com, Fast Company, and Tested.com.

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